


The One Where Carter is Sick

by TheLianKing



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Doctor!Kara, F/F, hospital au, sick Carter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLianKing/pseuds/TheLianKing
Summary: "We did everything we could. But unfortunately.....he didn't make it. I'm so sorry." The doctor said with a grave look on his face, watching as the young blonde woman in front of him collapsed on the hospital floor and broke into a sob."No." the blonde woman practically begged, "No please this can't be happening! He can't..." Another cry escaped her and wracked her entire body until her wails and cries of despair could practically be heard through every nearby hallway in the hospital....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [key_eiffel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/key_eiffel/gifts).



> I wrote this as a birthday gift for my wonderful friend who requested a supercat hospital AU with a side of Doctor Kara ;) And after reading what I wrote for her, she encouraged me to post it online so, here we are!  
> I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish another happy birthday to key_eiffel !! (Even though it's almost been a month XD) Thank you for being the incredible human being that you are and for always listening to my random fic ideas that I never get around to actually writing. I will always be greatful to the supercat fandom for not only giving me some of the best fics I've ever read, but for also giving me one of the greatest friends I could ever ask for! This one's for you!
> 
> P.S. Sorry about the summary but I just had to XD

_"We did everything we could. But unfortunately.....he didn't make it. I'm so sorry." The doctor said with a grave look on his face, watching as the young blonde woman in front of him collapsed on the hospital floor and broke into a sob._

_"No." the blonde woman practically begged, "No please this can't be happening! He can't..." Another cry escaped her and wracked her entire body until her wails and cries of despair could practically be heard through every nearby hallway in the hospital...._

Cat merely rolled her eyes at the dramatic TV soap opera currently playing in her living room tv as she cleaned up the scattered Cheerios that had fallen near the coffee table hours ago.

THIS, is the garbage people actually consider quality television?

Cat had been watching it for all of fifteen minutes while she tidied up the apartment and already she felt like she'd lost a few brain cells just by seeing the garbage storylines these so-called writers have lazily put together.

She didn't mean to of course. She'd just happened to accidentally hit the TV remote in her haziness after waking up from a long unexpected nap on the couch and had forgotten to turn it off when she decided to get up and clean the mess Carter left behind.

But Cat had to admit she can't be too disappointed in the mediocre writers' decision to finally kill off the shit boyfriend -Mike or Mark or whatever- with an unexpected, yet certainly not unfortunate car accident. She stared back at the TV after dumping the cereal crumbs into the trash bin in the kitchen, watching as the blonde girlfriend continued to sob.

_Ehh, she'll live._ Maybe this time find herself someone more worthy of her time.

Cat doubts it though. The writers will probably just through another white frat boy at the poor girl before the season's over. And with the living room once again spotless, Cat was free to finally turn off the television and kiss that garbage show goodbye.

She stretched her arms out and cranked her neck to loosen up her stiff muscles. That damm couch.

 

Falling asleep was the last thing she planned on doing, but with Carter finally napping and after the long week she's been through, the exhaustion just finally snuck up on her.

Speaking of Carter, Cat figured she should probably go check up on the little one. Looking at the time on her watch, she knew he's due to take his medicine again.

 

Carter lay sound asleep in his bed, the covers wrapped tightly around him as he fought to keep his shivering body as warm as possible while he rested.

 

Cat stood by the door frame and sighed with sadness at the site of him. His fever had been on and off all week.

 

Sleeping off the sick during the day, then feeling better and hyperactive by the evening. But when the late night came, so did the fever. It has been long and tiring for both of them, but hopefully the new medicine would finally bring them some much deserved peace.

"Carter? Carter, sweetie. Wake up darling." Cat called to him in a hushed tone, gently trying to shake him awake. "How are you feeling?"

A muffled groan was her answer as Carter shifted to the side under his little cocoon, but did not wake.

"It's time to take your medicine again, darling. One spoon and then you can go back to sleep." With Cat stroking the curls off his damp forehead, Carter finally poked one eye open.

"Head hurts, mommy."

"I know sweetheart," Cat kissed his head, "The medicine is going to make your fever go away. I promise." She took a moment to feel his forehead and cheeks with the back of her hand. He was still very warm.

"Bubblegum?" He looked up at her hopefully.

"Your favorite." Cat smiled at him as she grabbed the bottle from the night stand along with a spoon.

Carter shifted a little under the covers until he was laying on his back and facing Cat.

"Here, sit up darling." Cat adjusted his pillow properly before carefully pouring a spoonful of the pink liquid from the bottle she had purchased at the drug store earlier that week.

"Open wide" She held the spoon up in front of him as he readily opened his mouth. Carter smiled and nodded in approval at the taste of it.

Cat chuckled. Well at least that was one less thing to deal with. Now here came the other one she already knew was he was going to hate.

"Alright, now I know you didn’t enjoy it the last time you had it," Cat began as she went and grabbed the half-finished liter of Pedialyte that also sat by the night stand, "but it’s going to make you feel better."

Carter whined and kicked at his blankets upon seeing the bottle. "Noooo… It's yucky mommy!"

"Honey I know it's yucky, but this is what’s going to help make your fever go away. Don't you want to feel better so that you can go to Dylan's birthday party next Saturday?"

Carter thought about this for a moment before nodding his head solemnly.

Cat smiled. "That's my boy. Don't worry. This is going to make you so much stronger."

"Like Hulk?" Carter gestured to the Marvel cartoon figures on his t-shirt.

"Even stronger than that. And you won't even have to turn green." Cat said as she took Carter's empty sippy cup and filled up half of it with the juice.

Carter giggled at that as Cat shook the drink in her hand before reaching it out towards him. Looking bitterly at the orange liquid inside, Carter took the sippy cup and drank. One gulp, and Carter was already pulling the cup away as he gagged.

"Just a little more, sweetheart." Cat encouraged him.

"No more. I don't like it!" He shook his head.

"Two more sips. And after I check your temperature, you take one more. How about that?" Cat suggested.

Carter rubbed at his tired eyes and sniffled an "Okay." He went in and took two more sips, and handed the cup back to Cat.

His face morphing into pure disgust as he stuck his tongue out at the taste of the vile liquid.

_"Ick!"_

"Alright, alright. You're free for the moment." Cat surrendered with a smile and set the drink down.

Pulling out a thermometer from the back pocket of her jeans, Cat turned back to her son. “Let’s go ahead and check your temperature.”

Carter opened his mouth as she stuck the thermometer in. After it beeped a few moments later, Cat took the thermometer out and took a look at the digits. 101.5 degrees. His temperature had been 102 an hour and a half ago. That was something at least. She put the cap back on before putting the device back in her pocket.

"Your fever's going down a little." Cat informed him. "Hopefully this means you’ll be better when you wake up tomorrow. Would you like to try eating some crackers?"

Carter shook his head and sniffed a few more times. Grabbing some extra tissues, Cat pressed them up against Carter's nose and had him blow.

"You get some sleep then, darling." Cat said as she wiped his nose free from any snot. "Let's see how you feel in the morning."

Carter yawned and laid all the way back down under his covers as Cat pressed a kiss against his right temple.

"Love you mommy." Carter mumbled tiredly. Sleep took over once more.

"I love you too, my little angel." Cat whispered, gently caressing his little curls and watching him sleep for a minute. She didn't even ask him take one more sip of his cup of Pedialyte. It's nothing that couldn't be dealt with in the morning.

And if his fever was going down, he wouldn't even need to finish it. She'll have to check up on him in another 4 hours again though for his medicine. Bawling up the dirty tissues in her hands, Cat stood from the edge of his bed and walked back into the hallway.

 

Once settled in her own bedroom, Cat typed away on her laptop and replied to several emails that she'd received while she slept earlier and scheduled a video conference with a potential business investor for sometime next week. Hopefully by then, Carter would be well enough to return to daycare again. Setting the laptop down on her nightstand, Cat allowed herself a moment of rest and laid against her bed with a tired sigh.

Between caring for her sick child all on her own and still trying to work from home to expand her media company, Cat was barely left with any time for herself to just take a breath.

But she was a single parent. She knew this was part of the deal. It's just that...well it's overwhelming sometimes, that's all.

A hot shower to ease all the stress away would be perfect right about now.

 

Checking her phone for any other messages, Cat plugged it into its charger on her night stand and walked across the room to pick out a pair of pajamas and a spare towel. It was only 7:30, so she might actually get to enjoy a nice long shower and possibly finish reading a chapter of To the Lighthouse; barring that Carter doesn't wake up in need of anything.

With her pajamas in one hand, and her towel in the other, Cat made way to her bathroom. She hoped that by the time morning came, they would be back to the regular chaos of everyday life.....

xxx

Cat was practically fuming as she marched right up to her assistant's desk after having been pulled out of a very important emergency meeting with a board member who'd up and decided to pull out of her CatCo start up project at the last minute.

"This better be good Liz or I swear to god I'll-"

"-Miss Grant," her assistant, Lori, cut Cat's rant off urgently, "It's Mrs. Fitzgerald. Your neighbor. She insisted she speak with you about Carter. She said his fever's spiked again."

Cat froze.

"Is she on-"

"-Yes she's still on hold." Lori answered.

"Direct her to my line." Cat ordered before marching into her tiny private office.

"Yes, of course. Right away, Miss Grant." Lori scrambled to grab the phone.

"Forward the rest of my calls." Cat closed the door behind her and walked to her desk and picked up her phone.

 

"Cat?" Came an older woman's concerned voice.

"Yes, Sharon. What's wrong with Carter?" Cat asked.

"His fever has been getting worse." Sharon explained. "I've been checking his temperature every hour and it's not going down. He's at 104 right now and he won't stop throwing up."

"Oh," Cat merely whispered as a sigh escaped her. God, he could not catch a break could he?

"I'm sorry to have to call. I know you had a work emergency, but he's asking for you. I can just drive him to the hospital myself if you’d like?"

"No, no, thank you, Sharon." Cat pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thank you for calling me about this. I was just wrapping up my meeting already. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Alright," Sharon said, “We’ll see you back at the house."

Cat put the phone back on the receiver and went to gather her things.

"I'm heading out for the day," Cat walked passed her assistant. "Any important calls, take a message and email them to me tonight. If Jeffery finally comes to his senses and calls back, pencil in a meeting with him as early as possible."

"Yes Miss Gran-" Cat didn't even wait to hear the end of her response before she was out the door.

Luckily, the drive from the office to her apartment complex did not take long and Cat was able to make it within fifteen minutes. It wasn't until after she'd parked and walking towards the lobby that she noticed the ambulance truck parked right out front with the siren lights still flashing. Upon seeing the vehicle, Cat felt a chill run up her spine and got goosebumps as a terrifying thought ran through her mind.

As if on cue, Cat's cell phone went off and she wasted no time in answering.

Not even bothering to check the caller I.D., she responded. "Sharon?" Cat's voice almost cracked, using only the woman's name to ask the question she was too afraid to form in a sentence.

"Cat, I am so sorry I couldn't call earlier. Carter he...he had a seizure. It just came out of nowhere. I've already called the paramedics. They're looking at him now." The woman spoke quickly.

Cat’s stomach dropped at those words. And suddenly she felt as if the world around her was spinning. She could hear the sounds of paramedics talking urgently in the background and that was enough to spring her into action.

Her son was in trouble and he needed her.

Without another word, Cat hung up and stumbled into the elevators with whatever strength she had and slammed on the button until she was finally on her floor. Dashing across the hallway, Cat spotted Sharon standing outside of her front door with a look of concern as she ushered Cat inside.

"What happened?" Cat asked breathlessly.

"We were in his room and he wanted to use the restroom. He got up and he just...collapsed." Sharon spoke as she ran alongside Cat to Carter's bedroom.

“I’m so sorry, Cat.”

“It’s alright. It wasn’t your fault.” Cat reassured her as they came to a stop in front of Carter’s bedroom.

The site before her was enough to cause her knees to weaken and she staggered backwards against the bedroom door for support.

Four men stood in a circle and spoke to one another, their entire focus on Carter, who lay on the ground at the center. His entire body convulsing, limbs and muscles twisting and turning in a way she had never seen before. The only sounds she could hear come out of him was what she could only assume were a few grunts. But it was hard to hear anything beyond that with the sound of the paramedics shouting over one another using medical lingo she did not understand.

"Carter!" She ran to him when she finally was able to stand upright. "Sweetie, its mommy. Everything is going to be okay."

She tried to get closer to him, but one of the men put their hand up to prevent her from going any further. "Ma'am please give us a moment." The man spoke, lightly putting his hand on her shoulder.

"That is my son!" Cat hissed as she pushed past him and ran to an unoccupied space beside Carter, who's jerking of the muscles began to lessen.

He had an oxygen mask covering half of his face and his shirt had been pulled up to his chest to allow the medics to attach monitors on him.

"Ma’am, how old is your son?" One of the paramedics asked.

"He's four." Cat answered as she reached out to try and take Carter's hand.

"Any history of seizures?"

"No, he...this has never happened before!" Cat cried out. "He only had a fever."

"Temperature's 106." Another one announced to the others.

Carter's eyes finally slipped open only slightly as he tilted his head around in confusion.

"Pupils are only slightly dilated" Another paramedic flashed a tiny flashlight on Carter's eyes, which caused him to squint and look away.

"Mommy?" Carter tried to speak despite the mask covering his mouth.

Cat practically sobbed in relief as she scooted closer to him and pressed his hand against her chest. "Yes it’s me, sweetheart. I’m right here. Everything's okay."

It only took half a second for confusion to morph into terror as Carter took in his surroundings and began to cry.

With his breathing back to normal, the paramedics removed his mask. Now free, Carter sat up to hug his mother and cried against her. Cat clutched onto him and whispered reassurance to him, running her fingers through his curls in an attempt to soothe him.

"Miss?" The man who tried to hold her back earlier stepped in. "Your son needs to be transported to the hospital immediately. These kinds of seizures are not life threatening, but it's important he gets treatment for his fever before this happens again."

Wiping away a few tears and giving Carter a kiss on the forehead, Cat straightened herself up. "Yes of course."

They brought in a stretcher for Carter and strapped him in.

"I don't wanna go away!" Carter cried even more as he tried to fight off the two men currently trying to tie him down.

"It's okay, Carter. We're just taking a trip to the doctor." Cat took his hand.

"Everything hurts, mommy." He whimpered.

Cat's heart broke for her little boy. He doesn't deserve any of this. It was only a fever, god dammit.

"I know, baby. I promise the doctor will make it go away. But you have to brave. I'm right here with you." Cat soothed, following the men out as they rolled Carter out of the room.

After assuring Sharon that she will keep her updated on Carter's condition, Cat followed the medics onto the ambulance truck and sat by her sobbing child.

xxx

The ride to the hospital was a blur. From the moment they shut the truck doors to the moment they were wheeling the gurney through the emergency room, all Cat could focus on was the fact that no less than a half hour ago, her son was on the floor convulsing and suffering from his sickness while she was too busy trying to expand her business to take care of him. Carter continued to cry throughout the whole ordeal, despite Cat's attempts to calm him down.

Getting him to accept the IV tube from one of the nurses was a whole other challenge on its own. A challenge that left him howling by the time they were left alone in their room.

As soon as the nurse stepped out, Cat sat on the bed and took Carter in her arms, trying her best to avoid any of the tubes and monitors they had attached to him. "I don't like it here. I wanna go home!" Carter choked between his sobs. "Please, please, please."

She did her best to keep her emotions in check and not cry in front of him. What he needed right now was his strong and fearless mother to tell him everything was going to be just fine.

"We'll go home soon, I promise. But I need you to do something for me." She reached over and lifted his chin so that his tired red puffy eyes were looking directly into hers. "I need you to be a brave big boy for me."

"But I'm tired. And still hurt." Carter rubbed at his eyes.

"I know everything hurts right now, but that's why we're here, Carter. These doctors are going to make you feel so much better and you won't have to drink that nasty juice anymore." Cat rubbed at his back and placed another kiss on his temple.

He didn't hear anything else she said as he leaned back against her and cried in pain.

"Sshh, sshhh...it'll pass darling. It'll pass." Cat whispered into his ear as she continued to embrace him.

Even though he was wearing a simple shirt and pajama sweats, his entire body still burned like a furnace. She really hoped that the doctor would be here soon and do whatever it is they need to do to get her son out of this hellhole.

xxx

Fifteen minutes in and Cat was ready to phone the god damm mayor and have this hospital put under criminal investigation for patient negligence. A nurse had come in twice to check on Carter and also to inform her that their pediatrician was currently occupied with another patient; promising that she will be done soon.

But that was a five minutes ago and Cat wanted to scream.

Her son was suffering and all these people could give her where a bunch of meaningless apologies and empty promises-

"Gosh I am so sorry!" Came a young woman's voice from the door entrance. "I was seeing another patient when they paged me and I couldn't leave just yet."

More than ready to verbally attack the doctor for failing to aid her son, Cat's words died on her mouth as she took a good look at the woman.

Calm cerulean blue eyes met fiery hazel ones.

The first thing that Cat most certainly noticed, was how incredibly young this woman looked. Probably no older than 25 but could still pass off as 18 if she wanted to. She looked almost ridiculous wearing scrubs and a lab coat. It was like watching a five year old play doctor. Her dirty blonde hair, that looked in serious need of conditioner, was swept up in a neat ponytail. And a pair of black lens glasses finished off the rest of the look. It was the only thing that actually made her look at least a little older. Yet despite Cat's critique at her appearance, the moment that soft smile landed on her, she suddenly found it very hard to swallow.

Shaking off the momentary weakness for attractive women, Cat narrowed her eyes and pointed her signature glare at the young woman; causing the blonde's smile to falter.

 Good. 

"I was told that the hospital's pediatrician will be tending to us. Not a resident." Cat replied coolly.

"Oh, no," the woman fiddled with her glasses, "I'm not a resident."

She walked on over to Cat and extended her hand. "Dr. Kara Danvers. I'm the pediatrician here."

She eyed the doctor for a good ten seconds before she gave in and took the blonde's incredibly soft hand in her own. Ignoring the flutter in her stomach from the contact, Cat retracted her hand and watched Dr. Danvers walk around the bed to take a look at Carter's chart.

"Paramedics brought him in?" Kara asked, removing the stethoscope from around her neck.

"Yes. He...his seizure.." Cat couldn't even begin to explain the events over the last hour without fighting the urge to break down.

Which is not something she had any intention of doing so long as this woman was in her presence.

Kara looked up from the chart with a sad frown. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I know that's not an easy thing to see happen to your child."

Cat opted out of replying and instead swallowed back the lump in her throat. Unconsciously clutching a suddenly quiet Carter even more tightly against her.

"There's no permanent damage though. As terrifying as that must have been, febrile seizures are nothing to worry about. This won't affect him physically or mentally or cause him to develop epilepsy. I'm just here to make sure we get his fever out of the way to make sure it doesn't go any higher." Kara gave her a reassuring smile.

Kara turned her attention to Carter and flashed him a welcoming smile. Carter, who's cries had resolved to quiet sniffles against Cat's blouse, only watched Kara through tear stained eyes.

"Hey there, Carter. My name's Kara. How you feeling?" She asked.

Her only response was a small whimper.

"Would you mind doing me a favor, buddy?" Kara asked. "I just want to listen in on your heartbeat and do a couple other tests to make sure you're okay."

"I don't like tests." Carter shook his head reluctantly.

"I promise they'll be quick and harmless." Kara assured him. "And here," she reached into her front pocket and pulled out a similar yet a lot stethoscope. "I listen to yours and you can listen to mine."

That seemed to peak the young boy's interest. Carter untangled himself from Cat and sat up a little straighter.

"For me?" He pointed at the object in her hand.

"All yours." She grinned and handed him the stethoscope. "We can listen to eachother’s heartbeat together."

Carter took the stethoscope in his hand and actually smiled for the first time since the whole ordeal.

"So here's what we're gonna do," Kara began to explain, hanging the eartube loosely around Carter's neck. "We're both going to listen at the same time. And when I take a deep breath, you also take a deep breath. Got it?"

Carter nodded eagerly.

"Awesome." Kara gave him a happy thumbs up.

"So this right here," she pointed to the ends of her own stethoscope as a demonstration, "is what we call the earpiece. You stick it in your ear like this." She placed them in her own ears.

Carter went and followed Kara's actions with a little help from Cat, who eyed the interaction with a mix of awe and curiosity.

"And that's how we can hear a heartbeat. This part right here," she pointed at the metal piece at the other end of the tube, "is called the bell. This is what you're going to press against my chest when I say so. Are you ready?"

Carter nodded as he too grabbed the bell in an exact imitation of Kara. "Ready!"

"Make sure you press all the way so you can get a better hearing. But not too hard. And take big deep breathes when I do." Kara instructed.

"Okay." Carter sat up straight as Kara went and pressed the small round metal plate against his chest, pressing his own against hers. Kara made sure to emphasize when she was taking deep breathes to make sure Carter did the same. After a minute, they were done.

"Well thank you very much, doctor Carter." Kara beamed. "Now do you mind if I check a couple more things?" She asked, grabbing a disposable thermometer and an otoscope from one of the bins on the counter.

Carter, who was too preoccupied with exploring his new toy, merely nodded.

Kara went ahead and took his temperature, as well as checking his ear canal before taking a few extra notes on his chart. "The nurse noted that his fever is still at 106 so I want to start getting some antibiotics in his system." Kara spoke as she continued to write her notes.

"He doesn't seem to have any signs of an ear infection so that's one less thing to worry about." Kara looked up this time. "I do want to keep him overnight however."

Cat straightened up at that. "But you said he'd be fine."

"Yes, yes, he will." Kara jumped in to reassure her. "I just want to keep monitoring this fever of his and make sure the antibiotics do their job. I don't want to risk sending him home in a few hours and have it come back at full force."

Cat nodded as she took the information in. Taking a deep breath, she tried to ask without a tremble of her voice. "And you’re sure that his seizure…there's no permanent damage?"

Kara put the chart down and came to stand beside Cat. "Miss Grant, I promise you that Carter is going to be just fine. A febrile seizure may not be common, but it's not uncommon either. These things only occur when the body's temperature goes up to high. But it's nothing modern medicine can't fix. And I promise you, I will do everything I can to fix this." Kara flashed her that big smile of hers again.

And once again, Cat could only merely nod at the doctor's words. Kara turned to Carter. "Thank you for being so brave through all this. You're doing so good."

Carter smiled bashfully.

The doctor took a closer look at his shirt. "The Avengers, huh?"

Carter looked down at his shirt before he nodded his head in excitement. "They're the coolest!"

"Right?!" Kara agreed with equal enthusiasm. "Greatest team of superheroes of all time! Who's your favorite?"

Without even missing a beat, the two said "Iron Man" at the same time.

Kara smirked. "Brilliant minds think alike."

"Iron man is the best!"

"Totally." Kara nodded. "And I'm sure he'd be very proud of you right now. I know I am. And I know your mom is too." Kara smiled back at Cat when she said this.

"You've got yourself quite a fighter, Miss Grant." Kara said to Cat. "Most kids that come in here in his condition aren't usually as responsive as he is. Must be a secret super power." She winked at Carter, who giggled.

"Thank you." Cat said sincerely. Surprised at herself at how grateful she actually felt.

Carter does not do well at meeting new people, and certainly not after what he's been through recently. Yet not only did this woman manage to break through his barrier, but she also got him in a good mood despite how much pain he must be feeling.

"I'm going to go ahead and have the nurse prepare the antibiotics and I'll be back in a jiffy to get you guys started." Kara flashed her another bright smile before she walked out while Cat watched her leave. Carter took the opportunity to go ahead and experiment his new toy on Cat.

"Mommy, your heart's beating fast."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara helps Cat. Some emotional stuff happens..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand here's part two! Enjoy :D And thank you all for the lovely comments!

"Yes, they have him on antibiotics. It's not serious but they do want to keep him overnight for observation." Cat spoke on the phone with Sharon. She continued to pace around the hopstial's personal restroom, listening to Sharon as she spoke through the other line.

"He's napping now. Thank god." Cat rubbed at her temples. "It's been a long day for us both." Another pause. "Oh, no thank you Sharon. It's alright, we’re only here for one night. We can manage on our own. Again, thank you so much for all your help. I really owe you one... Bye."

She hung up and placed the phone back into her pants pocket.

Taking a deep breath, Cat leaned against the counter, resting her palms flat against both sides of the sink and looked at her reflection through the dirty mirror in front of her. Cat stared long and hard at herself. Finally taking the time to herself to fully let everything that's happened over the last twenty four hours sink in.

It never occurred to her that throughout this entire time, even after being told that Carter would be just fine, her hands had never once stopped trembling. Everything was just a blur in the moment and it seems as if the adrenaline never really wore off.

 Trying to calm herself, Cat took several deep breathes and focused on the positive.

Carter was alive and healthy. 

 That's all that mattered.

Her son was alive. He was alive and he would be okay...

Letting that statement sink in, Cat found her lower lip quivering uncontrollably. And the tears began to fall.

Because what if he wasn't?

What if he'd died right then and there and the last memory he'd have of her was leaving him there with the neighbor to babysit him because tending to a work emergency in the middle of the afternoon was so much more important than being there for him? What if she had to live with the fact that she was too busy being angry at Jeffery while he was at home terrified beyond belief and without his mother there to protect him? 

 What if-

"Miss Grant?" Someone was knocking on the door.

She couldn't hear who it was though. Little by little, every sound around her was drowning out until all she could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding against her chest. Pounding so fast in fact, that the lack of oxygen was beginning to make her very lightheaded. Cat knew the panic attack was coming. But could not find the strength to stop it once it came full force. 

Cat continued to stare at the pale and sweaty reflection of herself until that too was nothing more than a blurry image in front of her. There's a thumping sound of some sort. She knows it. But has no idea where its coming from. It continued for a few more seconds before finally stopping.

She felt something grab her by the arm....or maybe it was someone. It was so hard to tell.

Everything was so hazy and impossible to make out. The only images she could see now was that of her little boy crying and convulsing on the floor. And an insistent shouting of a woman's voice in her head that sounded a lot like Katherine Grant telling her what a horrible mother she is.

And she was, wasn't she? She left her sick child to die.

Cat was on the floor now. Had she fallen? She can't remember if she did. Or why this blurry dark figure is crouching down next to her. She felt something warm and soft against her hand.

"Miss Grant, if you can hear me, I need you to squeeze my hand." 

  _Miss Grant._ The shadowy figure was talking to her. She could hear them speaking to her.

Cat squeezed the warm hand.

"Okay good." She heard it say. "Now I need you to take slow deep breathes. Inhale and then exhale as long and as slow as you can. Everything is okay. You're going to be fine, but I need you to breathe first. Can you do that for me?"

Breathing. Yes she could do that. She can breathe. Absolutely. She squeezed the hand again.

"Alright, breathe in slowly."

Cat followed the orders and took a slow deep breath.

"Excellent. Now exhale. Take your time."

They continued this for a couple more minutes. She breathed in when she was instructed told to do so, and then breathed out when told to breathe out. The sharp and shallow breathing she was doing at first soon evening out and allowing her to take in longer breathes the longer they kept at it.

"You're doing great, Miss Grant. Another deep breath." The woman's voice instructed her.

A woman. It was a woman who was with her.

"Everything is okay. Just keep breathing and it'll pass. You're going to be fine." The soothing tone of the woman's voice and the feeling of something soft rubbing in circles against her hand made her feel safe and calm in the same way that Cat always tried to make Carter feel whenever he was afraid. 

 It occurred to Cat right there that this may actually be the first time someone has ever actually tried to comfort her like how she did with her son. Not even her own mother could. And whatever this woman was doing to her, it certainly did feel...comforting. With her breathing finally evening out, her vision slowly returned to normal and she was finally able make contact with those blue eyes behind the dark lenses.

"There you are." Dr. Danvers smiled in relief beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"I-" She still couldn't find the right words to explain the storm of emotions or the fury of thoughts coursing through her. How could she when she herself didn't know? Cat tried to hold back the sob climbing its way out of her, but all it took was this woman putting a comforting hand on her shoulder for the dam to finally break once more.

"Hey, hey it's alright." Kara sat beside Cat and pulled her into a hug.

Cat clung to her - this stranger whom she only met no more than an hour ago- as if her life depended on it. And she hiccuped and cried against her shoulder like a frightened child. Crying. A thing she hasn't done since she was a teenager.

Oh, Katherine would have a field day with this.

"Just let it out." Kara whispered against her. "Let it all out. It's okay."

She repeated those words like a mantra the entire time she held Cat until the older woman was composed enough to form a coherent sentence

"I was at a business meeting." Cat sniffled and wiped away a few tears. 

She detached herself from the young doctor; ignoring that part of her body that still craved the physical attention. Cat scooted away even further as an extra measure. Kara didn't say a word, giving her entire focus to Cat as she waited for her to speak when she was ready.

"When Carter had his..." she closed her eyes and swallowed, "..I wasn't supposed to go in today. But one of my investors decided to pull out of my project at the last minute and I went in to try to negotiate a new deal." The older woman shook her head at herself.

"For the last five years, I've been trying to bring in some investors to start up my media company. I was finally close to reaching my goal. So when I heard that he was backing out, I HAD to go. No matter how sick my own son was, I had to go. And now he's here." Cat cupped her hand to her mouth to mask the soft whimper that escaped her.

There was silence for a moment.

"You know that there was nothing you could have done to prevent this right?" Kara asked, finally. "Carter would've had a seizure whether or not your were at work. These things happen. You can't blame yourself for that."

"But I wasn't there!" Cat burst out angrily. "My son was going through one of the most terrifying experiences in his life and I wasn't there for him! That's all he'll ever remember of me. Always missing out on things going on in his life because work will always trump everything else."

Cat wiped away at her eyes again. "My mother was right.."

Again, Kara waited.

"She told me I would be a failure as a mother when I first told her I was pregnant. She said we'd both be better off if I just got rid of him because I'm such a cold and selfish person who never learned to care for anyone but myself." Cat chuckled darkly, "Hell, I was selfish enough to get myself pregnant by a total stranger, at least according to her."

 The young doctor continued to watch Cat, who was now looking down at the floor, processing her thoughts.

"She was right." Cat looked to Kara, resignation in her eyes. "I'm failing him. And I'm a horrible mother."

Kara cleared her throat. "Miss Grant with all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about."

Before Cat could reply, Kara cut her off. 

"I haven't been with Carter long enough to know everything about him, but I've seen more than I need to know for a fact that that little boy in there," Kara pointed in the direction of the bathroom door, "loves you. And you are a wonderful mother who is doing the best that she can with what she has. That does not make you a failure."

Cat looked back down at the floor. "Maybe me doing my best isn't good enough for him. He loves me now. But what happens when he finally sees past the illusion of the perfect mother he thinks I am? When he starts comparing the number times I'm at my office and the time that I actually spend with him. What then? "

Kara scooted a little closer to her and took a deep breath. "I know what it's like to doubt yourself." She began.

"Everything is so new, you don't know what the right or the wrong thing is. Nobody's there to teach you any of it either. There's this...constant pressure pushing down against you knowing that every move you make is going to impact them for the rest of their lives. And the idea that you're doing this all alone makes it so much more suffocating..."

Cat met her eyes again and looked at the young doctor curiously.

Kara looked away and fiddled with her glasses. "My aunt and uncle passed away when I was eighteen. My cousin Clark was only 7 years old. We lived in Kansas back then, and...there was a tornado."

"I'm so sorry." Cat whispered. It felt like such a useless thing to say. But it's all she had.

"We weren't there when it happened." She continued. "That's one thing I'll always be grateful for. Clark was on a school field trip in another city and I was completing my first semester at Metropolis University. There was no one else in our family. My aunt and uncle took me in when I was two after my parents died. There was no one to take care of Clark. So I did. I moved him out to Metropolis with me, I worked two jobs and I continued to go to college and then med school."

Kara looked at Cat again. "I spent so many nights just laying awake and wondering if I was being selfish too. If going to med school was worth putting Clark through having to sit alone at dinner time every other night, or having to wait long hours after school for me to pick him up because I had to work overtime. I never stopped doubting myself. I still don't, sometimes. But you know what I did to keep it together?" Kara asked.

Cat knew it was a rhetorical question but she still shook her head no.

"I reminded myself that I love Clark. And he loves me. And as long as we had eachother, we would always find a way to be okay. Even if I still had doubt then, I'd just remember that I'm human. And humans make mistakes. No one is perfect, Cat. And as crazy as this may sound, that includes you too." Kara smirked when she said this, bumping shoulders with the older woman playfully.

Cat actually laughed at that. "You sure know how to kick a girl when she's down, don't you."

They both chuckled and let the heaviness of the conversation ease away before Kara's face turned serious once more.

She reached out and hesitantly took Cat's hand. "It so easy to fall into everyone else's ideals of what a good parent should be. But don't let that make you second guess yourself. You are a strong woman with a wonderful son who adores you. That's all that matters."

Cat took in Kara's words and let it ease away the heavy weight on her shoulders.

"Thank you." Cat smiled. "Really, you...you've helped me tremendously."

"You're welcome, Cat."

This was the second time the doctor has called her by her first name. Cat decided she liked that.

Kara stood up from the floor and offered Cat her hand.

Cat took it and was slowly guided back to her feet. Her body still a little shaken after what happened just a few minutes ago.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kara put her hands on her shoulders and leaned in to get a better look at Cat's eyes.

"I'm fine. Just still a little -oh" Cat stopped when she felt that soft warm hand press against her cheek and forehead. She knew it was to check her body temperature but geeze did Kara have to be so sensual about it?

"You're a little warm but nothing that could be concerning." Kara observed.

Cat thought about making a quip about being hot but decided that maybe this wasn't the best moment to openly flirt with her son's doctor.

"Isn't that a relief." Cat responded dryly.

"But you should try eating something to help you get out some of that adrenaline. When was your last meal?" Kara asked as they stepped out of the restroom.

Cat stopped at that.

Actually, now that she thinks about it... she can't remember eating anything beyond a banana and some toast that afternoon. She'd gotten the call to go into the office just a couple of hours later and hadn't thought about food since then.

"A...while." Cat slowly admitted.

Not almost six hours to be precise. No, she can't tell her that. It was almost as bad as telling her dentist how many times she actually flossed per day.

The look that Kara was sending her way hinted that she probably knew anyways.

"Mhm." Kara crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

Cat looked away sheepishly.

"Well in that case, we need to get some food in you. I-"

A voice boomed out of the hospital intercom.

**"Doctor Danvers please report to the the nurse's station. Doctor Danvers please report to the nurse's station."**

Kara looked at Cat. 

 "I'm sorry. I have to go deal with that." Kara gestured to the hallway. "Oh, before I forget, I came in here to check on Carter when you were...using the restroom."

Cat nodded without making eye contact.

"He's responding well to the antibiotics and his temperature has gone down to 103.  It's not as low as we want it to be but it's only been an hour so we'll see how he's doing in the morning."

"Thank you, Doctor Danvers." Cat gave her a small smile. "For everything."

"Don't mention it." Kara smiled back.

"I'm going to have one of the nurse's bring you guys a meal. For yourself and for Carter whenever he wakes up. _Eat_." Kara gave her a pointed look.

Cat rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother. Now I believe they requested your presence at the nurse's station." Cat made a motion to shoo her away.

Kara turned to leave before a thought occurred to her and she turned back to Cat. Her gaze softened.

"And remember what I told you, Cat." Kara looked over at Carter, who lay sound asleep on the hospital bed. "He's very fortunate to have a mother like you. You two are going to be just fine."

Kara exited the room.

Just like before, Cat watched her go. This time however, she didn't need Carter's medical expertise to point out just how fast her heart was beating.

 xxx

Cat tossed and turned in the uncomfortable makeshift couch tirelessly. Trying but failing to get at least a few hours of sleep even if this was a hospital and a nurse was coming in to wake her up every hour anyways to check on Carter's condition. Maybe she should have taken Sharon up on her offer to bring a few things from home when she had the chance. But now it was 2 in the morning and there was no way she could simply call up her neighbor and ask if she can possibly bring her entire bed to the hospital to make sleeping more manageable.

Sitting up from the couch, Cat checked up on Carter to make sure that he was still asleep.

With the antibiotics taking their course since the early evening, he'd napped for a good hour and a half and spent majority of the time awake and full of energy. Nothing like the boy he had been over the last week. It warmed her heart to see him back as his old self after everything. Even if it was only when they were alone in the room.

She placed a kiss on his forehead and quietly stepped out of the room.

The outside hallway was like a ghost town. But what else could be expected at a hospital so late at night? 

 Unsure of what to do with herself, Cat took one last glance at Carter before deciding to take a trip to the cafeteria. As much as she hated hospital food, it was better than the flavored Pringles that were at every vending machine she could find. Besides, her poor stiff joints needed the chance to stretch. She was starting to deeply despise all couches...

 

There were only three people in the cafeteria when she entered. The young man working the cash register, a nurse sitting on one of the plastic blue chairs digging into a container full of microwave macaroni, and an elderly janitor who was emptying out one of the trash bins. The dim lighting and lack of people made it look just as dead and depressing as everywhere else in that place.

"What can I get you, ma'am?" The young man at the register asked with a perkiness in his voice that Cat had no idea would be physically possible to have at this ungodly hour.

She doubted a place like this would have her usual latte, hot, with no whole milk. "Just a coffee, please." Cat replied. "Black, with two sugars."

"Coming right up." He smiled and went right to work to get the coffee ready.

Cat leaned against the counter while she waited, deciding to pull out her phone and go through the email sent by her assistant that evening. She'd been so preoccupied by her phone that she didn't notice that someone else had joined her at the register.

The young man behind the counter looked up from the coffee maker and said, "Hey there, Kar. Night shift again?"

"Hi, Winn!" A familiar voice piped up from behind her. "Yup, third one this week."

"The usual then?" The boy -Winn- asked.

"Yes, please! Double shot this time." Kara replied.

"One of those nights?" Winn asked sympathetically.

Kara shrugged, "Nothing serious. Just a lot of paperwork to go over." 

Winn nodded. "Well I'll get right on that. Here's your order ma'am." He was speaking to Cat this time.

Cat took the cup with a "thank you" as she she paid for her drink. She smiled when she turned and was recognized by the young doctor. 

"Miss Grant, hi!" Kara closed the folder in her hand and slipped it back inside the large pile under her arm. Cat ignored the twinge of disappointment in her gut at being back to last name basis.

"Doctor Danvers," Cat greeted her. "Fancy seeing you here."

Kara grinned. "Yeah, came here for the freshly brewed coffee and gourmet hospital food." She joked.

"Hey!" Winn grumbled from behind the counter. "I'm doing my best over here but I'm not a miracle worker."

"You're doing great, Winn." Kara assured him. "Keep up trying to make this place as bearable as possible."

Cat didn't know whether or not to linger around with the doctor. The woman was obviously on her break and probably didn't want to be bothered by the parent of a patient while she's trying to relax. Just as she was about to excuse her, Kara spoke up.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kara asked her. 

Cat took that as an invitation to stay a little longer. "No." She hummed.

"As accommodating as our current sleeping arrangements are," her voice dripped with sarcasm, "It seems this environment has made me nocturnal."

Kara nodded in understanding. "Hospital life definitely has that affect on people. Take it from someone who spends more than half the week roaming these halls at night."

Winn walked back to the front counter. "It's only a matter of time before the fangs grow out and she can join the rest of us night crawlers permanently." He handed Kara her coffee and winked.

"Very funny." Kara rolled her eyes at him. "I'm only keeping this up for another month before I get my daylight hours back full time so keep your little vampire clutches off me."

Winn put his hands up in surrender. "Go back to creeping the hallways, doc. We still on for game night Friday?"

"Oh, absolutely. Tell Will I want a rematch for last week." Kara pointed her finger at him accusingly. "Your boyfriend can cheat once, but he will _not_ cheat again." 

 Winn rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, sore loser."

Cat watched the exchange in amusement. The easy banter really brought out such a youthful twinkle in Kara's eyes, it was almost impossible to believe this was the same woman who suffered such a horrible tragedy and was left to care for a child on her own. Not wanting to intrude on the doctor's time any more than she already has, Cat spoke up.

"Well I should probably head back to Carter. Enjoy your break, Doctor Danvers." Cat turned to leave.

"Uh, actually Ca- Miss Grant," Kara stepped in front of her. "If you can't sleep, I could maybe...provide some company? I mean it's fine if you'd like to be alone or.." She drifted off before her talking turned into a nervous ramble.

"Oh no, you don't have to sacrifice your time for-"

"I really wouldn't mind." Kara cut in. "I could actually use the company as well if that's not a problem with you."

Cat considered before giving in.

"Not a problem at all." Cat smiled. "Shall we?"

As Cat began exiting the cafeteria, Kara waved goodbye to Winn; actively ignoring the thumbs up and the suggestive eyebrow wiggling he was sending in her direction.

"Have a lot of reading to catch up on I see?" Cat pointed at the binder and folders under Kara's arm when they were out in the hallway.

"You have no idea." Kara laughed lightly. "Every doctor's headache. Paperwork and files. I'm a little grateful tonight has been mostly calm. Gives me a lot of free time to finally get this stuff out of the way."

"And you're using me as an excuse to procrastinate." Cat gave her a knowing look.

Kara's easy smile turned to a frown."Oh, no! I wasn't- I mean I really do want to spend time with-" The woman stammered.

Cat laughed and put a hand on the other woman's arm. "Relax. I'm only joking."

"Oh." Kara looked away, embarrassed. "Good."

They walked through the hallway at a come and leisure pace. Taking a sip of her oh-so wonderful cup of coffee, Kara cleared her throat. "Sooo uh, how have you, you know, been? Since our talk?"

Cat continued to walk, not really making any eye contact while she contemplated her answer. 

Part of her was still a little horrified that she exposed such a vulnerable side of herself to a woman she'd only met that day and had no business whatsoever in her personal life except for tending to Carter. But at the same time, it was almost a relief to finally unload that burden and share it with someone else who knew exactly what it was like to feel like you were drowning. 

"Alright, I suppose." Cat surmised "You've definitely given me some things to think about."

"Good things I hope?"

Cat shrugged. "It's a work in progress. May I ask you something?" 

"Sure. Anything."

"How is it now? With you and your cousin I mean?"

Kara smiled fondly. "It's good. Great, actually. He's fifteen now and he's also thinking about maybe getting into the medical field."

"You've inspired him to be just like you. You must be so proud."

"You know I'd love to take the credit for that, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Lois Lane, the heart surgeon in Metropolis."

"Oh?" Cat raised her eyebrows in question.

"His high school had a Career Day event last year and she was invited to come in and speak to the students about the medical field." Kara explained. "He was practically drooling over her during the entire speech. The little rascal has been obsessed with wanting to be a doctor ever since. Specifically a heart surgeon."

"Ah, typical teenage boy." Cat rolled her eyes and laughed. "At least I still have a few years left with Carter."

"You better enjoy them." The doctor warned her. "I'm still dreading the day Clark brings a date home for dinner."

Cat put her hand on Kara's shoulder. "I am so sorry." Cat said in mock sympathy. 

Kara glared at her. "Your sarcasm is noted. But no worries. Won't be long before you too end up in the same shoes as me." She hummed.

 "Way, wayyyy down the line." Cat clarified.

 They were almost close to Carter's room.

"So how is Clark with your hours? I'm sure they can be pretty hectic."

"They can be long some days, but we make it up when we have the time. I do have more help now. My old college roommate, Alex, offers to spend time with him when I'm not around. She's actually the one who really helped me through it all emotionally when I was starting out. She's practically family to us." Kara took another sip of her coffee.

'She sounds like an amazing."

"Oh, you have no idea." Kara smiled in the same way she did when she spoke of Clark. "I don't know how I could've done it on my own without her."

"I'm glad to hear how well you two are doing." Cat really meant. Knowing exactly where Kara was coming from in terms of single parenthood, she couldn't help but root for them. Hoping that maybe she and Carter would be alright too.

"It helped a lot that he was always a great kid who understood our circumstances. I think he and Carter would really like eachother. He's an even bigger Avengers fan than I am."

Cat almost tripped on her over her own foot. Just the thought of that scenario alone was enough to set off the butterflies in her stomach.

"Yes, I'm sure they would.."

"I've been having double shifts for the last couple of months and it's been tough. I only ever get to really see him when he's barely making it home from school and that's only for a few minutes before I have to be out the door." Kara said with a sad frown.

"Well that is unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that."

Kara shrugged with a sigh. "It's only for another month or so. My colleague, Samantha, is out on maternity leave so the other pediatrician and myself have been covering her shift until she gets back."

"That's a relief at least."

"It is. Makes me less on guard about leaving Clark alone at night."

"Worried he'll get into some night time shenanigans?" Cat smirked.

"Oh no." Kara shook her head. "No shenanigans on my watch. I have my own monitoring system to keep him out of trouble when I'm not there. And I know all the tricks in the book."

"Now that I find hard to believe." She teased. "No offense, Doctor Danvers but you don't strike me as the rebel teenager type."

"Oh really?" Kara cocked her eyebrow. "And what 'type' _do_ I strike you as?"

"The quiet girl, always did as she was told, always did all her homework, probably the teacher's pet, did all your chores, never late for curfew, and I'm sure the craziest thing you've ever done was most likely return your library book a day after it's due date." Cat finished off her list "You get the idea."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with trying to be a good student, and maybe I did occasionally piss off my classmates because I reminded our teachers about assignments they forgot to collect...but I'll have you know that it was _two_ books and I actually never returned them." Kara crossed her arms with a smug little grin.

Cat pretended to gasp in shock. "Two books?!" 

 "Uh-huh." Kara nodded. "I can be pretty bad. Don't let the glasses fool you." The young blonde tugged at her glasses and tipped her head down so that she was eyeing Cat from the rim of the lens. God this woman was trying to kill her. 

Cat leveled the look with a cocky grin of her own. "Aside from your little book thieving, any other rebellious streaks to help make your case?"

"Ooh, I've got a few wild ones." Kara laughed before grinning at Cat mischievously. "You'd be surprised how out of control things can get when you grow up in small town in the middle of nowhere."

 "Speaking as someone who's had several prior arrests before I was even eighteen, it's safe to say I have seen it all. So I highly doubt that is likely. But if you think your wild streaks can top mine, go ahead and give me your best shot."

"You sure you'll be able to handle it, Miss Grant?" Kara asked, challengingly. 

 Cat crossed her arms and stepped into the blonde's space. She may be tinier than the other woman in size, but she made up for it in attitude. 

"Bring it, Danvers."

xxx

Cat did her best to refrain from making any noise that could possibly wake Carter; which only resulted in her making the most pig-like snort she has ever heard come out of her as she envisioned the scenario Kara painted out for her. 

"Wait, so was it her mother or father that came knocking at the door?" Cat asked. 

"It was her mom." Kara groaned quietly as she told her story. 

"Oh my god." Cat clutched at her stomach in a fit of giggles. "What did you do?" 

"Well obviously we both had to get out of the shower. And then we had to find a way to sneak me out without them seeing me. Luckily, there was a window by the sink big enough for me to squeeze through. The unlucky part..." Kara drifted off.

"The rest of your clothes were still in her room." Cat finished for her.

"The rest of my clothes were still in her room." Kara repeated with a miserable sigh. 

Cat went and grabbed another red vine from the open bag on the small table in front of them. They'd been stuffing their faces with snacks brought in from Kara's office as they spent the last hour and a half retelling their war stories. They'd gone from telling their most borderline illegal tales from their teenage years, to the most embarrassing and or wild memories. Even though Cat had her beat in terms of who was more of a delinquent than who, Cat had to admit the doctor had quite the past.

"So there I am, bra and panties and still half wet from a shower, climbing out the bathroom window of a two story house while my girlfriend tried to play off innocent with her parents." 

"And you two were really foolish enough to believe that you'd have the house to yourselves for the entire weekend?" Cat teased. 

Kara threw her hands up in frustration. "Okay first of all, who says they're going out of town and then just suddenly decide to go home? Who?" 

"Mr. and Mrs. Stevens apparently." Cat commented under breath. 

"God that whole night was just a perfect storm of cliches from a bad 80's high school rom-com movie." Kara shook her head in disbelief.

"How'd you wind up getting home?" Cat asked. 

"Ohhh I did not.." Kara gave her a forced smile. "My house was half way across town and there was no way I was about to go streaking through the streets half naked in the middle of the night." 

"So what did you do?" 

"Well...I spent the night in her parents' barn." 

Cat choked on the bottle of water she was currently drinking out of as another fit of laughter threatened to erupt within her. 

"You WHAT?" Cat exclaimed in a loud whisper. 

"I mean what else was I supposed to do?" Kara asked defensively. "We were both drunk as it was. I was in no way mentally capable of coming up with an actual plan!" 

"My my, Danvers, you really do live life on the edge." She mused. "What happened then?" 

"Well I spent the night in the barn, right next to the chicken cope to be exact. Missy snuck out my clothes and a blanket later on when her parents were asleep, but there was still no one to come pick me up and she sure as hell couldn't risk us almost getting caught by her parents again so sleeping in her room was out of the question. Had to wait til the morning to call my friend Eve to come pick me up." Kara finished up the bag of Sour Patch Kids and crumbled it up on the table.

"How were your aunt and uncle?" Cat pretty much guessed what the answer to that was but it was so much more fun to see the doctor relive her parental trauma.

"F-u-r-i-o-u-s." Kara let out an airy laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen them that angry before in my life. And that's including the time they found out I was suspended for that whole food fight fiasco. To make matters worse, I was far too hungover to even properly defend myself." 

"Good lord I don't know how they managed with you." Cat leaned back against the couch. 

"I'm with you there. All I know is I am far beyond grateful Clark wasn't born with that knack for trouble the way I was." 

"Oh I don't know." Cat hummed. "Give it a year or two and I'm sure it'll kick in." 

"Well I happen to have some very good connections with several government opts organizations so that boy better be prepared to have a whole armada after him if he ever tried to pull one over me." She cocked her chin proudly.

Cat looked at her surprised. "Do I even want to know?"  

Kara shrugged innocently. "Alex makes a lot friends."

"Well I certainly underestimated you, Doctor Danvers. You really are a wild child through and through." 

Kara smirked. "Not so innocent yourself though huh, pot brownies?" 

They both laughed at that.

"Guess we're both not innocent." Cat said afterwards.

"I guess not..."

They were silent after that as they both gazed at one another. The only sound being the soft hum coming from Carter's monitors. Cat couldn't remember the last time she felt this relaxed with someone. No business endeavor or proposition in mind. No story to chase. Just a kind and beautiful woman who's eyes happen to be sparkling oh so perfectly in the dim lighting of the room. She didn't even notice that their faces had been inching towards eachother until she felt the doctor's breath hot against her own lips. 

They were no less than an inch apart now. She had a perfect profile of the doctor's face, and the curve of those perfect lips. Perfect enough for kissing. All she had to do now, was close her eyes and lean in just a little more-

 "Miss Grant? My name is Sally. I'm just here to replace -oh, Doctor Danvers." Said the nurse that just walked into the room, causing the two women to practically leap off their seats. 

Never had Cat wished that murder was legal more than now.  

"Nurse Sally!" Kara greeted in a rather too high pitched tone. "Uh-um, yeah I just wanted to come in and see for myself how my patient was doing with his fever."

Nurse Sally eyed both women curiously before nodding in okay. "I'm just here to replace his IV and I'll be out of your hair." Nurse Sally replied. 

Cat and Kara refrained from making eye contact or even speaking the entire time the other woman was there. She looked between the two women one more time before she excused herself and left the room. 

 When the door closed behind her, the two burst into a nervous fit of giggles like two teenagers who just got away from getting caught by their parents. 

"Well that was-" Cat didn't even know what to say.

"-Yeah." Kara cleared her throat and looked around awkwardly. 

"It's getting a little late, actually." Cat spoke. "Carter will be up in a few hours so maybe I should try and get more sleep before morning." 

"Right, right yes of course!" Kara scrambled to pick up the rest of the snacks and empty wrappers they had laid out all over the table, along with their half finished cups of coffee.

Cat didn't want to send her away. In fact she wanted more than anything for her to stay. But it was late, and she was sure the woman had so much work to get back to. 

"Thank you for a wonderful time, Cat. This was nice." Kara said finally.  

"Likewise." It was the only response she could think to come up. "So, you'll be here in the morning?" 

"Bright and early." Kara nodded. 

"Great."

Neither made a move. Kara was shuffling awkwardly, trying to prolong the time. So funny how someone she has only known for less than twenty four hours could make her feel this at a loss for what to do or say. Ignoring the more rational part of her brain, Cat stepped forward and placed a chaste kiss on the young doctor's cheek.

"You know most doctors wouldn't care to help the way you've done with me. I know I've said this before, but I really am thankful." Cat whispered softly. She still hadn't moved from Kara's personal space. 

"I'm not like most doctors." Kara kept her eyes firmly on Cat.

"So I've come to realize.." The older woman murmured. 

Kara stepped back and gathered her folders from the table, balancing the snacks on top of them. 

She walked to the door and glanced back at Cat. 

"Goodnight, Miss Grant. Sleep tight." 

"Goodnight, Doctor Danvers." With that, she was out the door. 

 

xxx

 "Good morning. I'm Dr. James Olsen and I will be taking care of you guys today." A tall muscular man stepped into the room.

It was nearly 7 in the morning, but Carter had been awake long before that, just as eager as Cat to finally be released from his stay. The four year old was practically jumping up and down the hospital bed in anticipation.

But upon seeing the man, Carter sank further into his pillow and refused to meet his eyes. So much for anticipation

"Oh." Cat tried to mask her disappointment. "I assumed Dr. Danvers would be seeing us."

"Dr. Danvers had a patient come in about twenty minutes ago so she won't have time to come in herself before her shift ends." He went and picked up Carter's chart from the foot of the bed.

"Your son seems to have responded well to the antibiotics." Dr. Olsen looked up from the chart with a charming smile.

He walked on over to Carter to check his monitors. Carter shrunk back against Cat, pressing his face against her blouse to avoid making any eye contact with the man. Dr. Olsen took one side glance at Carter's hidden face and smiled.

"Doesn't like strangers does he?" 

Cat rubbed at Carter's back and sighed. "No, but he did warm up to Dr. Danvers pretty quickly. Which is a first so don't take it personal." She added.

"No, not at all." Dr. Olsen chuckled. "Dr. Danvers always had a way with the shy ones. Pretty sure it's from all the free toys." He grinned at the discarded stethoscope on the bed.

"Yes I'm sure."

"His temperature is back at a perfect 98.6 and nurses have reported that he's been recovering well since last night." Dr. Olson pulled out a pen from his front pocket and wrote on the chart.

"I'll have the nurse come in and get you guys ready to leave in just a few minutes. Hang tight in the meantime." He looked over at the two before he took off again.

"We going home, mommy?" Carter poked his head back out as soon as Dr. Olsen was out of the room.

"Yes, baby." She kissed his cheek, relieved that this nightmare had finally come to an end. "We're going home." 

 xxx

It was almost surreal to see Carter so up and about and practically jumping all over the place. There was a part of her that truly feared he wouldn't be the same boy after this. Even after being assured multiple times that there would not be any permanent damage. A mother will always worry after all. Nothing filled her heart more than seeing Carter as active as ever, talking to her about anything and everything. Whether it be about the dream he had the night before about having tea with an orange giraffe, or remembering to tell her all about a new insect he learned about from one of his books.

She cherished every moment of it, and she will be forever grateful that this incident didn't alter their life in any way. 

 "And just sign right here." The nurse at the front desk said, pointing at the bottom of the release forms. 

Carter stood next to her, once again too occupied listening to his own heartbeat to pay attention to anything else going on. 

"Alright, you and your son are all set to go." The nurse replied. "Have a wonderful day." 

 "Thank you, you too." Cat looked over at Carter. "Ready?" 

 "I'm hungry." Carter declared, taking Cat's hand. 

"You mean you didn't enjoy your peanut butter and jelly sandwich from this morning?" Cat asked, pretending to sound surprised. 

Carter shook his head vigorously, all while sticking his tongue out and making a "yuck" sound.

"Okay, how about pancakes for breakfast?" Cat grinned at him. 

Carter's entire face lit up at those words. "Yes! Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!" The boy cheered, gleefully. 

"Pancakes it is then." 

It didn't occur to Cat until they stepped outside of the hospital that they had no form of transportation to help get them home. They'd been driven there by the paramedics after all and Cat's mind had too focused on her son to even think about how she was going to get her car down here. There was Sharon, Cat considered. She knows the woman would be more than happy to come and drive them home. Even if it was still so early in the morning. 

Or maybe she could just call a cab to- 

"Miss Grant!" Some called after her. Cat turned and all her previous thoughts vanished away as she caught the site of blue eyes, and glowing blonde hair that practically shined against the morning sunlight. The woman speed walked towards them, but judging by how heavy Kara was breathing, something told Cat that there had definitely been some running before finding them. 

"Hi!" Kara greeted almost breathlessly once she reached them.

"Hi, Kara!" Carter waved at her enthusiastically. "Look! I'm not sick anymore!"

Kara crouched down to his level and offered him a high five. "Good work there, bud! I knew you could do it!"

"I thought we wasn't gonna see you." Carter said with a frown.

"Yeah I know, sorry about that." Kara looked to Cat and then back at Carter. "Had another sick kid I needed to take care of, but I really wanted to come see you so I can give you this." 

 Kara reached into the bag she had slung over her shoulder and began rummaging through it. "When I was in my office earlier, someone came in and asked if he could see you. I told him I'd bring him to you as soon as I could. Ah, here he is."

Kara pulled out an Iron Man action figure from out of her bag and presented him to Carter, who's eyes lit up.

"Iron Man?" Carter looked at the toy in awe.

"The one and only." Kara confirmed. "Said he really wanted to meet the brave little boy who was staying here at the hospital. That and something about only wanting to hang out with the cool kids." She winked and handed him the toy.

"Cooool!" Carter took the toy with a huge smile on his face. "Thank you, Kara!" Carter unexpectedly lunged at her, almost knocking her off balance as he pulled her into a tight hug. 

"Well thank you for being such a cool little dude." Kara ruffled his hair. Cat smiled at the two as Kara looked up at her from behind Carter. 

"Thank you." Cat mouthed the words. 

Kara merely shrugged. Carter finally released her as he did a closer inspection at the toy. 

"I'm getting the feeling he'll start faking illness just to get himself more gifts." Cat joked once Kara stood up and stepped beside her.

 The two watched Carter as he lifted the toy in the air and made fake explosion sounds. 

 "I doubt with a mom like you he'll be able to fake his way through anything." Kara gave her a playful nudge. 

 "Off the clock?" Cat's eyes shifted over to the bag on her shoulders and noted the absence of her lab coat. 

"Yup. And just in time to catch the sunrise too. It's one of the few perks of working the night shift." Kara nodded appreciatively at the sun, which has yet to poke its way through the tall skyscrapers. "You guys heading home?" 

"Yes. I was actually just about to call a cab to come pick us up." Cat went to dig her phone out of her pocket.

"Oh, that's right. You guys came in with the paramedics." Kara remembered. "Well if it's alright with you, maybe I could give you guys a ride?"  

Cat's heart was almost leaping out of her chest. "Oh, no, no, no that's quite alright. I wouldn't want to bother you. You just had a long night and I'm sure you want to get home to Clark already." 

 "Actually, Clark has soccer practice early in the mornings so I won't see him until the afternoon. It's really not a problem, Cat." Kara tried to reassure her.

Oh. They were back to first name basis. Wonderful.. 

 Cat looked over at Carter, still too busy playing, and then looking back at Kara. "We live uptown." Cat warned. 

 "The drive is not a problem."

"Can I at least pay for the gas, then?" 

 "I don't want your money." Kara stated flatly.

 "You've done nothing but help since yesterday, please the least I could do is reimburse you for the trip." Cat tried to reason. 

"As I said before," Kara crossed her arms. "I don't want your money. I just want to do a simple favor."

Cat almost stomped her foot on the ground in frustration. God, did she have to be so stubborn? "Well, I have to repay you somehow! Favor or not."

"Mommy can pay you in pancakes!" Carter piped up from behind them. The four year old looked between the two with a smile on his face, almost proud of himself for coming up with the idea as he went and tugged at Cat's jeans. 

 "Kara can take us home and we eat pancakes to say thanks!" Carter turned to Kara and yanked her bag with his other arm. "You want to come eat with us, Kara? Mommy makes the bestest pancakes!"

 Cat looked down at Carter, who looked back at her with those pleading puppy dog eyes. 

Oh he played this game well.

Cat glanced at Kara, wondering if the woman would actually be open to having breakfast with them. Seeing the look on her face, it seems like she too was contemplating taking up breakfast, or disappointing the poor four year old. 

Finally deciding to cave in, "Would you consider taking pancakes as a form of payment...and perhaps some coffee too?" Cat asked almost shyly. 

"Hmmmm...." Kara tapped her finger against her chin and pondered. "I know I said I just wanted to do you a favor and expect nothing in return. But for pancakes.." She grinned at the two. "I think I can make an exception." 

Carter jumped up and yipped. "Is gonna be super fun! Mommy, can I show Kara my dinosaurs?" 

 "Why don't you ask her?" Cat tilted her head to the woman beside her.

 Carter looked back at Kara. "You wanna see my dinosaurs, Kara? You can play with my T-Rex." 

 Kara crouched down in front of him. "I would love too." 

 "Yes!" Carter pumped his fist in the air triumphantly. "You gonna love mommy's pancakes. They're number one!"  

"I hope you like chocolate chip pancakes though. They're a household favorite." Cat stepped forward. 

"Well as it so happens," Kara beamed up at Cat, "Chocolate chip pancakes are my favorite breakfast in the whole world."  

"It's a date then." Cat's smile reflected Kara's own.

"It's a date." 

 

The End. 


End file.
